


When To Let Go (4x02 deleted scenes)

by DC_bookfanatic



Series: Chicago Med Season 4 Fix-it’s/ deleted scenes [3]
Category: Chicago Med
Genre: Deleted Scene, Episode 2, season 4 fix-it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-25 18:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20728694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DC_bookfanatic/pseuds/DC_bookfanatic
Summary: Continuation of season 4 deleted/added scenes! Chapter one: Ava and Connor are informed about the fire.





	1. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with episode 2! This chapter's title is taken from Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer. I chose this song title well, for the obvious reason that something was literally burning in this particular episode so I thought a little symbolic correlation might be nice. Also, there are a few lines that I feel relate to Connor and Ava. I feel like they are 'slow dancing in a burning room' in the sense that they are both in this complex, passionate dance of liking each other but not being able to tell the other one how they feel.   
I know this song is really actually about a relationship coming to an end but that is definitely not why I named this chapter after the song. I just like the title. I think the phrase taken by itself could mean a lot of things...
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own Chicago Med or John Mayer's 'Slow Dancing in a Burning Room'

“’Thank you so much sweetie! So smart. And such a handsome boy too! You’re a rare gem,’” Ava mimicked through laughter.

Connor rolled his eyes, his face slightly pink, “Shut up, Ava. It’s not funny.”

They passed through a constricted access door as Ava kept laughing, “Oh, it’s hilarious. I think she likes you.”

Glaring, Connor defended, “She’s probably still loopy from the drugs. You know the effects of anesthesia can linger in older patients.”

Ava gave him an unconvinced smirk, “I don’t think so. Mrs. Anderson seemed fully aware of you and your attributes.”

He scowled and she gave him an innocent look before batting her eyelashes at him whilst saying ‘sweetie’ in a surgery voice.

Ava let out another peal of snickers as she flounced down the hallway to escape Connor’s angry gaze.

“Ava,” He hissed after her as she slid behind a desk, going to a computer in the pretense of doing some work all the while chuckling in amusement.

Connor was about to whack her on the shoulder (lightly) when Amber, one of the nurses, came jogging towards them, a serious look on her face and two tablets in her hand.

Ava turned towards the nurse, her smile faded into concern as Connor’s hand drifted down, no longer playing. The two shared a worried glance.

“Dr. Rhodes! Dr. Bekker!” Amber took a breath like she had been running, “They need you in the ED right away. There’s been a massive fire in one of the apartment buildings downtown.”

Both surgeons moved out from behind the counter, already walking towards the emergency room with Amber by their side.

The nurse glanced at Connor as she handed him a tablet, “Dr. Halstead needs you. His father was one of the victims.”

Connor shook his head, scrolling through the info as they walked through the hallways, “Great. Just what Mr. Halstead needs--Inhalation injuries on top of a quadruple bypass.”

Ava shot him a sympathetic look before focusing on Amber who was handing her the other tablet, “And Dr. Manning has asked for a consultation for a Blair Scott. Extreme burn injuries but the scans show that she also has an injury to her heart.”

Ava nodded as she swiped through the images, “It looks like it’s her right carotid artery. The damage is blocking blood flow; should be an easy fix.”

She cocked her head, “These burns however,” Ava shook her head, arching her eyebrow, “I’m afraid she has a long recovery ahead of her.”

“The burn center is going to be very busy,” Connor agreed as the three got off the elevator at the ED.

They turned, taking in the scene of the ED. People were swarming, doctors and nurses running around with patients, the noise humming loudly in the background. Unfortunately, this was an all too familiar sight. In a city as large as Chicago, mass casualty incidents happened more often than they would like.

Connor took a deep breath, turning to Amber, “Thanks for notifying us.”

The nurse frowned sadly and held up a hand as Ava and Connor started to leave, “There’s one more thing.”

Again, the two surgeons shared a glance.

“It’s Stella Kidd. She’s in pretty bad shape,” Amber looked between the doctors, “They’re probably going to need you before the day is over.”

Ava and Connor sighed in unison watching as the nurse took her leave, going to join the hub in the ED.

“This is going to be an exciting day, I can already tell,” Connor tapped his hand on his leg impatiently as they both stared at the bustling ED.

Ava rose her eyebrows, “Yeah,” She pursed her lips, “Well, good luck and I’ll see you later.”

She slipped into the emergency room, weaving in and out of the people before disappearing behind a curtain to one of the treatment rooms.

Connor shook his head ruefully, making his way to Will’s dad.

Never a dull moment.


	2. Into the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor asks Ava's help in removing Stella's lung and Ava reflects on Blair Scott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends!  
What was that season 5 premiere?? Like, I still don't understand what I watched nor do I want to accept it. It was terrible and I definitely WAS NOT expecting that. I am not okay with how Ava's story line ended (I was mostly just in shock) and I cried when Connor left (the only 'good' scene was Latham and Connor's last scene like--oh my gosh, TEARS). So I now officially don't care about the rest of season 5, in fact, in my mind, the show ended like 5ish minuets in of 4x11 and then split off into my AU fics where Ava is not crazy and actually ALIVE and Connor appreciates and cares for Ava's awesomeness. I could go on for forever about how mad and upset I am with the writers and just the whole situation-#bitter- but I'm sure you don't want to read all that. All you need to know is that I will not stop this series so if you need some therapeutic fanfic reading, hopefully I will be able to provide it!
> 
> Now onto the actual fic:
> 
> I pulled the title from Aidan Hawken's 'Into the Sea'. I picked because it kind of fit with Blair (one of the burn victims from season 4, episode 2) and her parents and Ava. Give it a listen and comment to tell me if you thought it reflected on the situation at all. This snippet fits in after Ava consults with Blair's parents and is told they don't want treatment and after Connor tells Kelly Severide they're taking out Stella's lung. This is just a deleted scene of a conversation that Ava and Connor probably had before operating on Stella.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and please leave a comment!!
> 
> * denotes dialogue straight from the show.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own any OneChicago characters.

Ava sighed in frustration, rubbing her left hand along her hairline as she violently flipped through a binder.

_‘We don’t want anything. No treatments, no surgeries.’*_

She slammed the binder closed before burying her face in her hands, running Mr. and Mrs. Scott's words through her head.

She tried to understand, she really did but she couldn’t believe that any parent would give up on their child’s life, no matter the reasons. She supposed to them it was an act of mercy, but she knew plenty of parents who would give anything to be in their place.

Because Blair was fixable. There would be long road ahead of her yes, but she could have a normal life.

Ava had plenty of patients-children who would never have a normal life, no matter what she did. They would always be coming to the hospital to see her and other doctors to have procedures and surgeries.

Kids who had conditions that required hard and complicated surgeries, ones they may not make it out of.

But Blair, she could fix Blair with her eyes shut. And she knew the burns were terrible, and it was so sad, but Med had one of the top burn centers in the country. In time, the doctors there could make it appear like she was never in a fire.

She couldn’t believe her parents were just going to let her die.

Ava sighed again, letting one of her hands fall and propping her head up with the other.

She looked up when she heard her name being called. Connor was jogging towards her with a grave expression.

Ava picked up her head, letting her other arm fall. It didn’t look he'd had the best of luck either.

Before she could ask what was wrong, he was sliding a tablet in front of her, “It’s Stella. I could really use your help.”

Ava flicked her eyes towards Connor, noticing he seemed agitated as she took the tablet. She examined the x-rays and felt her heart start to sink.

“We’re going to have to remove her lung,” He rubbed a hand over his face, “She doesn’t have any more time. She’s already lost a lot of blood.”

Ava nodded in agreement, “Alright. Have you talked to Marty about the anesthesia?”

“Yeah,” Connor shoved a hand in his pocket, “He’s already in the OR setting up and she doesn’t have any allergies that we know of.”

Ava pushed herself out of her chair, handing the tablet back to him, “Well, I guess we’d better get ready then.”

The two made their way to their lockers as they talked over the steps to the procedure. Both had done plenty Pneumonectomies’, by themselves and as a team, but it was always a good idea to go through each step, including opening and closing the chest.

* * *

Ava exited the changing room, twirling her hair up and bobby pinning it to slide on her surgical cap. She saw Connor, not yet dressed, leaning his forehead up on his locker door.

“Connor?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

He sighed wearily before lifting his head and opening his locker, “I need to go change.”

She watched him silently for a few moments as he dug for his surgical scrubs.

Ava was about to leave, thinking that he wasn’t going to tell her what was wrong, when he slammed the locker door and turned towards her.

Connor shook his head in frustration, “Kelly Severide isn’t happy with my decision. He got really angry when I told him I had to remove her lung.”

Ava knitted her brows in concern, “Connor, we have to take out her lung. It’s the best course of action, you know that.”

“I know! But Kelly said that being a firefighter is all Stella cares about. I hate that we have to take that away from her. She can’t fight fires with only one lung.”

Ava nodded somberly, “I know. But would you rather she die? Because that’s what will happen if we don’t remove that lung.”

Connor still looked conflicted and upset. Ava gave him a small smile before walking over to him to lay a brief comforting hand on his shoulder.

“You get ready. I’ll meet you in the scrub room.”

And she left without another word.

Of course, she hated the fact that they were essentially taking away Stella’s career, but Ava knew that they were doing the right thing. There really wasn’t anything else _to do. _Besides, she had a feeling after Connor told her that Kelly said Stella only cared about being a firefighter that Kelly was mistaken.

She wagered Stella cared much more about Severide and his feelings more than her lung. And that it didn’t matter if she had a lung or not, not really anyways, not as long as she had the lieutenant, knowing that Stella cared about Kelly more than her job, even if he didn’t think so.

But more than that, Ava knew Stella valued her life. Even if it was a life in which she wasn’t a firefighter.

And Ava really did hate that it troubled Connor so much but she hoped he didn’t do anything stupid, like try to come up with a plan to save Stella’s lung.

The surgeon shook her head, pushing open the wide door into the restricted hallway that held the operating rooms.

The objective was to save Stella’s life as safely as possible, no matter what. Connor knew that.

(And she knew better than to think Connor might actually think with his brain instead of his heart).

Ava stopped in front of the viewing window of the OR watching as Marty and the techs readied everything for the surgery when an unexpected pang of sadness hit her, thinking of Blair Scott who was no doubt being unplugged from her ventilator and various monitors as her parents let her die. 

She swallowed. Well, at least she could save one person today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
What did you think? Was this scene realistic? How do you guys feel about the season 5 premiere? Are you still rhekker fans after all that's happened (I hope so)?  
I love your feedback!!


	3. Carry You Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of a long and emotional day, Ava receives relieving news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys get two in one day in honor of season 5 starting and crushing our dreams... Hopefully this soothes the pain somewhat ;) 
> 
> You guys remember that cutsy look Ava and Connor shared at the end of episode 2, right? The one after Connor talked to the waiting firefighters and then joins Ava at that counter. Well, in the episode, I'm pretty sure Connor walks off after that gaze but it was so coy looking (at least too me) I decided to 'extend' the scene. Besides, I thought Ava deserved a scene in which she's told that Blair's parents changed their minds because during the episode, Ava seemed pretty upset over that.
> 
> Also, this chapter's title is the title of a Ward Thomas song. I probably could have done better at picking a song but this song is supposed to be sort of representing what Ava is to Blair. How she is coming to pick her up and save her. I don't know... read the lyrics and tell me what you think.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> * denotes dialogue straight from the show 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Don't own it

_“You were extremely lucky, you know that.”*_

_“Extremely.”*_

She could feel his eyes boring into her as she turned to meet them.

All of a sudden, the surgery and how close they came to Stella dying, faded from her mind. The air got electric as they watched each other in a heated silence.

Ava briefly wondered if Connor’s response was actually about the surgery or about something else. He was looking at her in a way she’d never seen from him.

It was a tense, heated second until she couldn’t stand the depth of their gaze and she looked away, breaking whatever that moment was.

She cleared her throat, reorganizing the binders to give her hands something to do, “Stella could have died.”

Ava heard Connor shift, taking his hands out of his pockets to cross his arms, “But she didn’t. We saved her and we were still able to give her the life she wants.”

She shook her head, looking back to Connor. She still remembered the panic that started to fill her when Connor was yelling at Marty, pushing the limits till the absolute last second.

She really hadn’t thought they were going to be able to do it. She honestly thought they were going to lose Stella on the table all because Connor was determined to save her lung.

But it had worked in their favor. Just barely.

Next time though-

And the whole situation with Blair Scott was still running through her mind.

Ava shook her head, stacking a pile of folders loudly, “Connor, that was insanely risky. We may not be that fortunate next time.”

“I did what I thought I needed to do, and I was right,” He argued back, frustrated with the fact Ava was still berating him.

He-_they_-had done risky things in the past and yes, she got annoyed with him but today, she was behaving different.

It was like she was almost timid and in distress. In fact, he’d seen glimpses of it when they were in the OR.

Connor sighed, watching as Ava restacked the folders, a frown on her face, “Ava, what’s going on? You’re acting strange. I saw it in the OR too.”

He saw her eyes flash, some snarky remark no doubt on the tip of her tongue at his words when her face crumpled, and her eyes softened with vulnerability. Her emotions always changed so fast, sometimes he had a hard time keeping up with them.

The sadness in her face and posture startled him. His voice softened, “Ava, it’s alright. You can tell me.”

Was she disappointed in him? In how the surgery went?

He was surprised to find he’d rather have her angry with him instead of disappointed. The feeling of thinking that she might be disappointed in him was heart-wrenching and he was pretty sure it had something to do with the things he felt towards her. The feelings he was starting to realize he had; ones he was starting to understand exactly what they meant.

Even if that disappointment was misplaced and he _knew _that he did the right thing. And he was pretty sure that deep down, Ava knew it too.

But still, her disappointed in him? It made him feel terrible.

And that sadness in her eyes. It made him regret yelling at her.

Ava sighed, turning to meet his concerned gaze, “I’m sorry Connor,” She pursed her lips, her expression turning into a begrudging one, “I shouldn’t have shouted at you and even though I still think it was very risky, you made the right call. And I’m glad you did.”

She blew out a breath. She’d never been comfortable at apologies. She supposed it was a result of herself convincing her brain that it wasn’t a good idea to show any amount of vulnerability. Which was also why she hesitated at telling Connor anything.

But she’d found him quite the comforter in the past during the rare moments she showed any kind of pain or uncertainty. And that was slightly terrifying within itself because it only furthered her growing belief that she was starting to develop real feelings for him.

She bit her lip as those deep blue eyes gazed at her with concern and maybe even a hint of worry.

Her brows crinkled again, “This morning, the patient that Natalie asked me to consult with. Blair Scott.”

Connor nodded, his face already turning somber and grave, guessing that whatever she was about to tell him wasn’t good news, “What happened?”

Ava deflated, sorrow creeping into her eyes, “Her heart, I could fix it with my eyes closed. And I know her burns were horrible, but they were fixable.”

Connor waited for her to continue as she shook her head in disbelief. She locked eyes with him, confusion written over her face, “But her parents, they denied all treatment. They said it was too hard and that Blair wouldn’t want it. They just threw her life away all because they had tough road ahead of themselves and they didn’t think their daughter could do it.”

“Why Connor? Why would anyone do something like that?” Her eyes were glistening.

His heart went out to her and to Blair Scott and her family. It sounded like a terrible situation, but he agreed with Ava, why would any parent let their child die?

He let his mind wander briefly to his own father but quickly dismissed the morbid thought. His dad wouldn’t just let him die, no matter how strained their relationship was, right?

Connor shook his head to rid himself of the mental image. Besides, his relationship with his parent sounded much different than Blair’s relationship with her parents.

That was almost what was so baffling.

Why would the Scott’s give up on a daughter they seemed to love very much?

Of course, he didn’t know all the specific details, but it still seemed straightforward to him. He would like to think that if he should ever have a child, healthy or not, he would never give up on them. Not on their precious life.

Because if there was one thing being a doctor taught him was that life was precious.

It should be preserved at all costs if there was no statement from the actual patient dictating otherwise.

And he was certain that Ava felt the same way. It was no wonder she’d seemed off.

Connor looked into Ava’s watery eyes, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms to comfort her. Instead he settled for rubbing her arm lightly, “Wow, Ava. I’m sorry.”

She gave him a brief smile, “I think in the Scott’s minds they think they’re doing this out of love. An act of mercy for their daughter but I just don’t know Connor,” Ava shook her head in disbelief, “It’s her life. They can’t ever get it back.”

“I know. And I agree but--” Connor trailed off.

A nurse making her way deliberately towards them had caught his attention. Ava had noticed also, her gaze lifting.

“Dr. Bekker!” The nurse addressed Ava as she came closer.

As far as Connor could tell from the nurse’s expression, nothing was horribly wrong for which he was grateful. Both he and Ava had had an emotionally rough day and he knew she could use a break.

Ava bit her lip cautiously, “What is it now?”

Seeing the doctor’s anxiousness, the nurse waved reassuringly, a smile on her lips, “It’s Blair Scott. Her parents have changed their minds and she’s going for burn surgery. And hopefully to fix her heart. Are you still available to repair her carotid artery?”

Connor watched as Ava closed her eyes briefly in gratefulness before slipping back into doctor mode.

“Of course,” She nodded sharply, “Tell my team to meet me in the OR. And inform them I’ll be operating while Blair’s burns are being excised.”

The nurse nodded, turning to carry out Ava’s instructions while Ava herself closed the open and forgotten binder lying in front of her to put it in its place.

She grinned up at Connor, “Well, I for one, am thankful miracles exist.”

He grinned back, giving her a wink, “Me too,” His smile softened, “Good luck Ava.”

She held the moment for few more seconds before turning and heading in the direction of the ORs’. He watched her retreating figure. He agreed, thank God for miracles.

And he wasn’t just talking about medical ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment!! Tell me what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked it!! Please leave a comment and tell me what you thought!


End file.
